For this town, I am most thankful

Published 6:40 pm Wednesday, November 22, 2023

A little over a year ago I accepted the position of Editor at The Thomasville Times-Enterprise. Upon accepting the position, I moved to Thomasville and began my new life. During my first Thanksgiving in Thomasville, I thanked God for really just helping me hang in there. The first few months were tough. I hadn’t found a group of friends or anyone I really connected with. I felt like an outsider and really missed the connections I had made in Bainbridge.

It’s amazing what a year can do, though.

This year when I sit at the Thanksgiving dinner table, I will thank God for bringing me to Thomasville and opening up the door to many new relationships and endeavors.

In January, I joined Thomas County YoungLife as a volunteer leader. I grew up going to YoungLife and I thought the organization had already shown me its love and this was my turn to show my love for it. I was wrong.

YoungLife has provided me with the community I prayed so long for. I finally made friends. Not just the kind of friends you only see on Monday nights- real ones. In fact, these friends are so real that we all went to the Harry Potter Live Concert Series together in Tallahassee. If that wasn’t enough, I now have a friend that I get to text every day and watch Dancing with the Stars and fangirl with on Tuesday nights. More importantly, I have friends who I know are praying for me.

As I said earlier, the first few months in Thomasville were tough and like so many other believers, I became frustrated with God. I couldn’t understand why He would lead me to Thomasville, only to abandon me and leave me lonely. I do now know the bigger purpose, but beyond the friends it brought me, I’m thankful for YoungLife because it gave me my relationship with God back.

Prior to joining YoungLife, I was covering the Thomasville Junior Service League’s Red Nose Run and got to meet some of the members and their president, Katie Rush. It was during that time that I realized there was a whole other community I hadn’t met yet. Some of the girls and I exchanged numbers and they encouraged me to apply to be in the JSL’s Provisional Class of 2023.

I thought by March they would’ve forgotten about me, but low and behold I showed up to their tea and was greeted by the familiar faces. I’m now a Provisional member and it has allowed me to meet so many girls that I wouldn’t have otherwise, but it also gave me the opportunity to volunteer in ways I hadn’t before.

From serving food at the Pilau Dinner to accepting tickets at the Reading Roundup, it opened my eyes to the service projects all around me.

I don’t think I showed up to that story by accident, I think God also sent me there to find friends and a community, and for that, I’m also thankful.

While all these things I’m thankful for, I’m most thankful to my parents, who have supported me endlessly. They often don’t understand my excitement when I get a lead or scoop the story before another network, but they just say, “You go, girl!”

When I was most recently promoted to editor of The Tifton Gazette (don’t worry, I’m not leaving Thomasville), they couldn’t have been more proud. I know for years they were unsure about my choice in Journalism, but I’m thankful they allowed me to be myself and follow my dreams from Bainbridge to Thomasville and Tifton.

And to those communities, I’m thankful to you for welcoming me and sharing your stories with me.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!